Tag: hoax

November 26, 1977: Ashtar Galactic Command Hijacks ITV Signal

Today in 1977, an unidentified person hacked into a local English television broadcast. He identified himself as Vrillon, a representative of an "intergalactic association" called Ashtar Galactic Command. He claimed to be warning Earth of an impending intergalactic judgement, urging "All your weapons of evil must be removed" and "You have but a short time to learn to live together in peace and goodwill." The broadcast interrupted six minutes of airtime, taking over the audio only of a news broadcast featuring Andrew Gardner. The hoaxer remains unidentified today. The incident made a small splash in the conspiracy theorist realm as well, with UFO enthusiasts citing…

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November 21, 1953: “Piltdown Man” Discovered To Be A Hoax

Today in 1953, the supposed "missing link" between humans and apes was revealed to be a hoax. In 1912, anthropologist Charles Dawson claimed to have discovered unusual skull fragments in a gravel pit in Piltdown, East Sussex. After reconstructing his findings, he claimed that it was the missing link in the evolution between man and ape. Although met with skepticism initially, it wasn't until an article published in Time magazine in November 1953 that Dawson's "findings" were publicly denounced. It was discovered that only parts of the skull were human. Others were chimpanzee and orangutan bones that were stained and filed.

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August 25, 1835: “Great Moon Hoax” Begins

Today in 1835, the first in a series of six articles now known as the "Great Moon Hoax" was published. The articles made extravagant claims of life and nature on the Moon. According to them, the moon was rife with forests, beaches and creatures, including unicorns and bat-people. The "discoveries" were falsely attributed to famed astronomer Sir John Herschel. The series helped make The Sun one of New York's most popular newspapers. Herschel himself was initially amused by the articles until people who believed they were true started pestering him.

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